CTalk
“Most teams are building under the radar,” says UpWest Partner Lia Cromwell
Lia Cromwell, Partner at UpWest, speaks to CTech about the state of Israeli startups, the funding outlook for 2026, and the role AI is likely to play.
Lia Cromwell
(Photo: Streame)
Lia Cromwell describes 2025 as “a really hectic year,” noting the dissonance between “noise and reality” in overhyped headlines versus the quieter actuality of most Israeli founders. Speaking to CTech, Cromwell, a partner at UpWest, an Israel-focused Silicon Valley venture firm, said that while some companies raised “massive amounts,” “most teams are building under the radar somewhat quietly,” helped by the AI revolution that allows early-stage teams to “achieve a lot more with a lot less.”
Reflecting on the past year, and despite the challenges of the wartime environment, Cromwell maintains that Israeli founders “have the fundamentals,” and that even during the war, the market “continued to track macro trends completely.”
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Looking ahead, Cromwell, who spoke to CTech at the Calcalist Roadshow+ 2025, says UpWest is focused on vertical AI, with teams working in areas such as manufacturing, healthcare, and biotech. Cybersecurity, she adds, will continue to see “massive rounds,” while fintech is “likely to pick up again.” On whether AI is a bubble or an enduring trend, Cromwell argues “it’s both… the new baseline for everything,” although she expects “a bit of a correction” in parts of the market.
You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.
